(By a Paris Correspondent, )
Paris, March 4 - Few people care — really care - it seoms, about the fate of Algeria's war orphans. Rich America and prosperous France have slipped inspired stories into the capitalist press that they are about to give all kinds of help to Algeria, which will include help, it goes without saying, to those most desporately in need. Not in any rush, however, In the modern world of nuclear strike cap city, atomic counterforce and the balance of terror, what is so pressing about sending food and clothing to North Africa ?
Some radicals — even some socialists - who pride themselves on their capacity to sympathize with human suffering, display an attitude that is not much different. They seem to find it inconvenient to organize evon a small campaign of aid. Perhaps they count on the imperialists doing the job after all.
Thus it would appear that Algeria's war orphans, tho tens of thousands of the most pitiful victims of history's most savage colonial war have been abandoned by the outside world and are even boing disregariod by certain officials in Algeria itself.
These are the facts that came out in a press conference held by Mlle. Djamila Bouhired, Mme, Zohra Bitat and Abderrahmane Naceur March lst. in Algicts as reportéd in the March 2nd. edition of Al Chaab.These threo young people head Algeria's national organization for war orphans "21 Djil El Djadid." " We are at our wit's end = We don't have financial or material means — We suffer at times from failure of the public powers to understand." These three statements, said Al Chaab, constituted the themo of the press conference. "We called this meeting with the press," Mlle, Bouhired declared, “in order to make clear the numerous problems and the vory limited means faced by our organization, which is vory isolated, There is one thing on which everything focuses — it's the publicity in the press. In brief, they talk about collections among the brother Arab countries amounting to seven billion francs (4.7 millions), This is false, Nothing has come to us up to now except promisos. Ve were promised aid about as follows: 200 million frances (£170,000) from Bgypt, 300 million (£200,000) from Iraq, 65 million (£43,333) from Syria, and 600 million (£400,000) ‘from Kuwait, But this never went further.
As for richer and more powerful countric-, these wore not even mentioned in the conference, If help from Arab countries ends only in promises, what can be expected from imperialist powers? Or from "socialist" countries whose concorn. for "- sacoful coexistence” with x country Tike France scarcely pormits them to extend a het hand toward a country like Algeria?
"We have at present in Bl Djil El Djadid, "the three officers of the organization reported," 2,059 children, divided among 15 centres. The cost of each one of them is around 800 francs (12/-) a day. During the days of colonial rule, social centres had 1,700 francs (25/—) to expend for each child, a difference of 50%, and to this must be added our lack of material means. On this subject we would like to indicate thet there are things which we could turn to use in our homes for young people that are mildewing on the docks in Algiers and other places. We find it difficvlt to explain why wo aren't permitted to take what we noed there." The most ansjishing problems are not in the capital or other big centres but among the youtn in the interior. "It is thore that the families hit hardest by the war exist ani it is there that the greatest: number of orphans or maladjusted childron are found and it is in getting at the source of the ills that the moans for curing them can be found, But without means nothing can be done. It is a question of lifo or death."
In reply to what the press might do about the situation,one of them saids "Our aim in meeting with you today was to raise a cry of alarm. We don't know how we will be able to get along if the public powers don't come to our aid. Ye propose to organize a national and international campaign. We count on the entire press to defend our cause and to let people know that our organisation is an 6renmization for children and that children have rights we must respond to. We invite you to
visit our centres and better to judgo the truth i The Minister of Youth and of Sports refused to grant us certain means without any valid reason. We repeat then, we count on the press to take an active part in the defense of these children who form part of the framework of the reconstruction of the country and the building of socialism."
For those who feel something should be done to help Algeria's war orphans, the address is : Association El Djil Bl Djadid, Haut Mont D'Hydra, Chemin de la Madeloine, Algiers, Algeriz.